Chapter 90: Always and Forever
August 31, 2011
Marcel, in an attempt to regulate Klaus' foul mood, had led both Klaus and Katherine to a balcony overlooking the Quarter. "Look at that skyline, huh? That there, that's progress." It was clear that Marcel was proud of the work he'd done in the city during the Mikaelson family's absence. "More hotels, more tourists, more fresh blood. And the humans? I taught them to look the other way."
"And what of the witches?" Klaus inquired. "In my time, they were a force to be reckoned with and now they live in fear. How do you know when they're using magic?"
"Maybe I got a secret weapon." Marcel suggested. "An ace up my sleeve, you know? Something that gives me complete control over all the magic in this town." All of the magic in town. Katherine cataloged that bit of information away for later use. She couldn't allow Ellie to use magic if it would alert Marcel to her presence, wherever Ellie was.
Klaus hummed in response. "Is that a fact?"
"It might be." Marcel said, neither confirming nor denying the suggestion that he had made. "Or maybe I'm just bluffin'."
Marcel pulled a small satchel out of his pocket and took a piece of its contents to eat. When Klaus watched Marcel's skin sizzle without the other man flinching, he said, "You take vervain."
"It burns like a bitch, but I figure I should limit the number of things I'm vulnerable to." He replied easily. Was he talking about the pain of vervain in general? Or was he talking about the fact that Klaus could have compelled him otherwise? "Don't be mad about that chaperone thing. I told my guys to look out for you, that's all. That's what we do here… look out for each other." Klaus was watching Marcel, but Marcel had zeroed in on a woman walking on the street down below. He hummed happily as he said, "New blood."
"The bartender… walking alone at night. She's either brave or dumb."
"Let's see. Brave, I let her live. Dumb, she's dessert." Marcel teased before hopping over the railing. "You know, it's not safe here alone." He told her when she turned to face him.
She seemed unimpressed. "You know I have a black belt in karate." She shot back, unafraid.
Katherine was the first to react to Elijah's presence, shifting to turn toward where he was resting against the doorframe. "Evening, Elijah." Klaus greeted without looking away from the scene below them.
In no mood for Klaus' dramatics, Katherine asked the older Mikaelson, "Have you found anything on Ellie?"
He nodded gently, but by his severe expression, she was almost afraid to know. "Come with me." When Klaus didn't move fast enough for Elijah's taste, he said again, "Come with me." There was a warning in his voice this time. One that did not leave room for Klaus' attitude.
"Klaus, come on." She practically had to shove him to get him moving, but he did so and they followed after Elijah without a clue as to where they were going.
He led them to an incredibly old cemetery with intent. "What are we doing here?" Klaus asked his brother.
"You want to know what the witches have in store for you? You want to know what's happened to Eleanor? Follow me." Elijah instructed.
He led them into a crypt where a familiar face was waiting. "Sophie Deveraux. What is this?"
"He's all yours. Proceed." Elijah told her.
"You know you're famous in this town? Witches tell bedtime stories about the powerful vampire Klaus. We know Marcel was nothing but an orphaned street rat until you made him what he is. And now he's out of control. He does what he wants. He kills who he wants. I'm gonna stop him. And you and Elijah are gonna help me."
Klaus simply began to grin before looking back at Elijah. "This is why you brought me here?"
"Hear her out."
"I don't need to hear her out. I assure you, love, there is not a thing on this earth that will matter enough for me to waste even thirty more seconds of my time. Elijah, what madness is this?" Klaus demanded.
"Klaus…" Hayley said as the witches allowed her to step into few. "You need to listen to them."
He laughed easily. "You're all out of your minds if you think some liquor fueled one night stand no offense, sweetheart, means a thing to me."
"Klaus…" It was Ellie that spoke this time. His smile fell as he saw her pale complexion "Please listen."
Both he and Katherine were looking between her and Elijah. Fascinatingly enough, she stuck close to Hayley rather than moving to any of them. Before he could ask her anything, Sophie began to speak once more. "Marvel may be able to keep us from practicing real magic in this town, but as keepers of the balance we still know when nature has cooked up a new thing or two. For example, I have a special gift of sensing when a girl is pregnant."
"What?"
"I know it's impossible." Hayley said quietly.
"What are you saying?"
"Niklaus… the girl is carrying your child." Elijah explained.
Ellie watched as Klaus' eyes watered slightly. "No. It's impossible. Vampires cannot procreate."
"But werewolves can. Magic made you a vampire, but you were born a werewolf. You're the original hybrid, the first of your kind, and this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes." Sophie told him.
"You've been with someone else. Admit it!" Klaus shouted at Hayley, but Ellie immediately placed herself in front of the werewolf to keep her safe.
"Klaus." She said gently.
Hayley spoke over her, shouting back, "Hey! We've spent days held captive in a freakin alligator bayou because they think that I'm carrying some magical miracle baby. Don't you think I would've fessed up if it wasn't yours?"
"Wait." Katherine called, gathering their attention. "You said you knew when nature cooked up a new thing or two. What's the other thing?"
She noticed immediately how both Ellie and Elijah tensed. "Hayley isn't the only one that has a magical miracle baby." Sophie said bluntly. All eyes fell on Ellie, but Katherine didn't miss the subtle hand grab from Hayley to the witch.
Klaus scanned over Ellie's nearly sick looking features. She looked like she was either going to throw up or pass out. His eyes dropped down to her stomach before back to her face. "That is not possible."
When he turned back to Sophie she simply shrugged. "I don't know how that one happened honestly. But I know she's pregnant and I know she's only ever been with your brother. My sister gave her life to perform the spell to confirm these pregnancies. Because of Jane Anne's sacrifice the lives of these girls and their babies are now controlled by us. If you don't help us take down Marcel… so help me Ellie and Hayley won't live long enough to see their first maternity dresses."
"Wait, what?" Both Hayley and Ellie asked in surprise. Katherine shot Sophie a look of warning. She was not above tying her up in an undisclosed location so that she couldn't hurt a hair on Ellie's head.
"Enough of this, if you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself." Elijah replied.
"No. We can't. Not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow and there are rules."
Klaus turned to face her. "How dare you command me? Threaten me! With what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses? I won't hear any more lies."
"Niklaus. Listen." Elijah instructed. Both Katherine and Klaus focused in on the stomachs of the two girls. There, beneath their heartbeats, were other, smaller ones beating rapidly.
Ellie's heart twisted after a tear slipped down Klaus' cheek. She knew he could hear it like Elijah had. He turned to face Sophie and said, "Kill them and their babies. What do I care?"
"Klaus!" It was Katherine that called his name in surprise as he stormed out of the room.
"Screw this. I'm out of here." Hayley said as she tried to get away from the insane witches, but they blocked her exit.
Elijah moved toward the two girls protectively as Katherine said, "Elijah." Her demand needed no more words than his name.
He looked over to Sophie and in a dangerous tone warned, "No one touches those girls. I will fix this." He strode out of the room, leaving Katherine with the witches and werewolf.
When the brothers were gone, Katherine didn't hesitate to go to Ellie, pulling her close and simply holding her. Ellie's nails dug into Katherine's skin as she tried to keep her composure in front of so many people that they could not trust. "Ellie…"
"You came for me." Ellie said gently.
"You were in trouble. I'll always come for you." Katherine assured her.
Ellie sniffled, but she refused to cry. "I don't know what's happening." Ellie whispered so low only Katherine could hear. Katherine could see her human life flashing before her eyes. She remembered so vividly the fear she felt when she found out that she was pregnant. She hadn't known how a woman would come to be with child. At the time, she thought one had to be married for it to be possible. She had been wrong and she had been terrified that her father would beat the life out of her once he'd found out what she'd done. All she'd had was Malina to keep her comfort, the only one she could trust.
"It'll be ok, Elijah will keep you safe. I will keep you safe." Katherine said gently. She pulled back and pressed a kiss to Ellie's forehead. "It will all be alright. I promise."
"But Elijah…" Ellie didn't have to say any more than that. Katherine knew it was more than likely that Elijah hadn't had the best response, though she knew he would have moderated it. Even now, she was moderating her own response for Ellie's sake.
"I will talk to them both, ok? You stay here and stay safe and I will handle this. I know you're scared but I'm here, ok? I won't leave you." Katherine soothed. To Ellie and Hayley's surprise, Katherine moved to squeeze Hayley's hand in reassurance. "You will both be ok." Hayley said nothing at her touch, but she looked mildly surprised. "I'll be back."
"Katherine… please don't leave." Ellie said gently. "Not yet." There was so much fear in the mirror image of Katherine's eyes, the mirror of her human self. She would have never wished this fear on Ellie. She didn't deserve it.
Unable to deny Ellie this request when she'd had no one to protect her during her own pregnancy, Katherine nodded. "Of course, I'll stay."
Sophie had watched their nearly whispered interaction before saying, "You can take them to the crypt in the back. It has a couple cots there."
The vampire nodded, and led both Hayley and Ellie back where Sophie had instructed. "Not to be rude or anything, but who the hell are you? I thought Ellie was just a twin."
"Don't ever compare me to Elena fucking Gilbert." Katherine huffed as she looked over to Hayley. "Long story short, I'm Katherine, a vampire, and five hundred years old. Klaus found me when I was human and wanted to kill me so I ran and turned myself into a vampire. But I'd had a baby before I died and that baby grew up, had kids of her own and blah blah blah until Ellie and Elena were born, another set of doppelgängers that Klaus hunted down to use for his stupid ritual."
"Doppelgängers and rituals?" Hayley asked as she glanced over to Ellie.
"Too long of a story for right now, but I'll fill you in later. Katherine and I are technically twins, it's just… it's a lot."
"That seems to be the normal theme for your family." Hayley said with a small nod. "Thanks for coming to save us, I guess."
"No problem." Katherine replied as moved to sit Ellie down on the cot. "Have either of you given yourself time to process what's happening?"
Ellie scoffed. "We've got a bunch of psycho witches basically threatening to kill us to get rid of this Marcel dude. We're not safe right now, so that would be a big fat nope." She plopped her head into Katherine's lap with a sigh. "I, for one, am freaking exhausted."
"You should both go to sleep." Katherine suggested. The two girls looked incredibly weary, but she added, "I'll be right here to look over you both. They won't get within five feet of you, I promise."
Hayley shared a cautious look with Ellie. When Ellie nodded, Hayley sighed and sunk into the free cot. The two girls pulled the thin blankets over themselves and, with the safety that came with Katherine's presence, it wasn't long before they were out cold. Katherine sat there, running a hand through Ellie's hair as her thoughts raced. There was no natural explanation for Ellie's pregnancy, if not both hers and Hayley's, but she could hear the undeniable heartbeats of the babies inside them.
She knew that Ellie was terrified, there was no other reason she'd look so pale. Elijah wouldn't have lashed out at her, he knew better than that. But she also couldn't expect him to immediately jump for joy at his impending fatherhood. She'd seen enough of Mikael that she understood why both Klaus and Elijah might be a bit afraid of fatherhood. Her own father hadn't been the kindest man, far from it. She had been scared out of her mind. How scared were they now? They might be five hundred years older than her, but their trauma ran just as deep.
For the first time, she was not thinking of Klaus in fear, but in pity though he'd kill her for it. Quite frankly, she was annoyed that she felt sympathy for Klaus. But overcoming the pain caused by one's parents was a great deal of work. She'd seen the tear that escaped him, and she wasn't quite sure she'd ever seen him cry. He seemed to be above it until now. But Ellie was here, pregnant and scared, and Katherine couldn't leave her.
This pregnancy surely had some sort of something involved, but right now all Katherine could see in Ellie right now was her human self. She was separated from her family, unable to currently go home, relying on others to keep her safe, much like Katherine had when she'd been banished out of Bulgaria. She would not let Ellie suffer the same fear and pain that she had gone through. And, by extension, meant that Hayley would also be protected. She had a feeling that Ellie wanted Hayley to be safe as well. So she would do what she must. She'd protect them the way that no one had protected her.
The girls had slept for a while as Katherine ideally listened to their several heartbeats. The peace was disturbed, however, at the sound of a heated argument. "Sophie Deveraux, have you gone out of your mind!" A woman shouted, startling both Ellie and Hayley from their sleep.
"No, but I didn't have a choice." Sophie shot back.
"What's going on?" Ellie asked tiredly as she sat up.
"I don't know." Katherine confessed. "That just started."
She watched as the two girls woke themselves up fully almost immediately, like soldiers in the field. The three girls walked out toward the noise as the same woman demanded, "If we use those girls, how are we any better than Marcel?"
"We don't have to be better than Marcel." Sophie said tiredly. "We just have to get rid of him. Marcel and his vampires are out of control and you know it. Something had to be done."
"And the solution is to bring in more vampires?" As they stepped into the back of the room, Katherine recognized the woman to be the one that she and Klaus had spoken with earlier that day.
"These aren't just any vampires, Agnes. They're the Originals." Sophie insisted.
Agnes looked unconvinced. "What makes you think you can control the hybrid?"
"She can't." Elijah said as he appeared at the entryway. Katherine did not miss the way Ellie's heart rate spiked at his presence. He was leaning casually against the frame before he said, "Not entirely certain that I can, either, but now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question. What prevents my brother from murdering you instead of cooperating?"
Sophie seemed to have been expecting that question. She walked over and picked up what looked like a voodoo doll and pulled a long pin from it. Without flinching, she pierced the palm of her hand. "Ow!" Ellie and Hayley's pain shocked them both and they looked down to see that they were bleeding. "What the hell?" Hayley demanded.
Katherine watched the rage tick underneath Elijah's surface. Even if it was slight, he did not like Ellie being harmed. "The spell my sister performed, the one that got her killed, it didn't just confirm their pregnancies. It linked me to Ellie and Hayley. So anything that happens to me happens to both of them. Which means their lives are in my hands. Klaus may not care about his own child, but it's very clear how much your own child means to you. The life of your niece or nephew is just an added incentive. If I have to hurt Ellie and Hayley, or worse, to ensure that I have your attention, I will."
"You would dare threaten an Original?" Elijah inquired.
"I have nothing to lose." Sophie confessed. Ellie was surprised by the tears in the other girl's eyes. What was happening that she didn't know about? All of this was making her feel like she had when stuff started happening in Mystic Falls. Out of the loop, but still getting hurt by it. She pulled herself together before she told him, "You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind."
That wasn't much time at all. Ellie looked over to Katherine for help and the vampire nodded silently. As Elijah strode out of the room, Katherine moved to follow him. He was moving quickly, and he had the advantage of his age on her, making him faster when he really put his mind to it.
Which meant Katherine had no choice but to go after the idiot brothers that were the Mikaelsons. As fearsome as they might be, she'd already screwed her own safety to look after Ellie, she might as well go full out with it even if that risked pissing both brothers off.
She was only able to catch up to Elijah when he'd stopped completely at some compound looking place. She'd barely even opened her mouth when he told her, "Not a word." He spoke quietly, but with force and he didn't even glance her way.
Katherine followed his line of sight to see Klaus strolling into whatever this party was supposed to be. Marcel made his way through the crowd over to Klaus and said, "Hey, man. Where'd you run off to? Where's your girlfriend?"
"You mean your minions aren't still documenting my every move?" Klaus inquired.
Marcel laughed lightly. "Someone put you in a mood. What can I do?"
"What you can do is you can tell me what this thing is you have with the witches."
"We're back to that?"
"Yeah, we're back to that." Klaus sassed.
Marcel, in Katherine's experienced opinion, was still acting far too confident around Klaus. "You know I owe you everything I got but I'm afraid I have to draw the line on this one. This is my business. I control the witches in my town. Let's just leave it at that." Despite her not loving his attitude, she could see that he was trying to keep the peace between him and Klaus.
"Your town?"
"Damn straight."
Klaus chuckled the same type of laugh he always used when he was about to do something bad. "That's funny. Because when I left a hundred years ago you were just a pathetic little scrapper still trembling from the lashes of the whips of those who would keep you down and now look at you, master of your domain." Klaus was getting progressively louder as he spoke, drawing the attention of those around him. "Prince of the city. I'd like to know how."
"Why? Jealous?" Marcel asked. He must have been stupid to taunt Klaus. "Hey man, I get it. Three hundred years ago, you helped build a backwater penal colony into something. You started it, but then you left. Actually, you ran from it. I saw it through, huh? Look around. Vampires rule this city now. We don't have to live in the shadows like rats. The locals know their place. They look the other way. I got rid of the werewolves. I even found a way to shut down the witches. The blood never stops flowing and the party never ends. You want to pass on through? You want to stay a while? Great. What's mine is yours, but it is mine. My home, my family, my rules."
"And if someone breaks those rules?"
"They die. Mercy is for the weak. You taught me that, too. And I'm not the prince of the quarter, friend. I'm the king! Show me some respect." He definitely got his flair for the dramatics from Klaus. No doubt about that. It was so silent in the room that you could have heard a pin drop. Klaus seemed to weigh his options before he turned and attacked the man in the ridiculous hat, she couldn't be bothered to remember his name.
The group watched in horror as Klaus released him and he collapsed to the ground. "Your friend will be dead by the weekend which means I've broken one of your rules. And yet I cannot be killed. I am immortal. Who has the power now, friend?" Klaus walked out of the room with his head held high and once he was gone, the vampires surrounded their fallen friend, trying to help.
Katherine followed Elijah out and watched as he tried to contain himself. "He is willing to give up everything." Elijah told her. "He's spiraling. I can already see it. He's lashing out in blind rage. You know, the last time I saw him like this it lasted two hundred years." He glanced back at her as he said, "It was so close. When he heard the baby's heartbeat, I could see it in his eyes. He wanted it. He could almost taste happiness, and now his temper has destroyed it. Even if I was to return him to sanity, he just lost Marcel's trust. Niklaus may behave as he does, but on my life, I'm not letting anything happen to Eleanor and Hayley nor their babies."
"You're an idiot." Katherine said bluntly.
"What?" He asked as he whipped around to face her.
"Elijah, do you hear yourself like I'm hearing you? Is this how you sounded when you spoke to Ellie?" She questioned. "Why on earth are you still hiding behind this façade of being calm and collected when they are threatening the love of your life, because we both know she's the love of your life, and they are threatening your child. It's not just hers, it's yours. Ellie is terrified and you know it, now is not the time for you to hope that Klaus can be persuaded into making the right decision. Not so soon, not with something as big as this."
"Then what exactly do you suggest I do, Katerina? Since you seem to have such an expert opinion on how this matter should be handled."
"Are you forgetting that the only reason we ever met in the first place was because I got pregnant? I know what it's like to be in Ellie's position right now and she needs you at your best, Elijah." Katherine scolded. "You go to Marcel, you tell him that Klaus' blood is the cure. It will get his attention and since you just gave him information that can save the life of his friend, as a favor to you, he gives you the body of Jane Anne. A favor for a favor always works wonders. It's how I've survived so long. You take the body of Jane Anne back to her sister. In exchange for her body, she agrees to give you more time to get Klaus on board or for us to handle it without him."
He actually looked impressed with her audacity. "And if that doesn't work."
"It will." Katherine told him. "But you and Klaus need to get your heads out of your fucking asses, because it's Ellie's life on the line. Right now, Ellie doesn't need the noble Mikaelson that never loses his cool. She needs the man that will get shit done." There was an intensity to Katherine that Elijah wasn't sure he'd ever seen. "Either you handle this, or I will, because I will kill every single one of those witches save for Sophie if that's what it takes to keep Ellie alive."
She didn't wait for him to respond. Instead, she took off to find Marcel. For a few moments, Elijah didn't follow as he recovered himself. He was trying so hard to keep from losing control, but Katerina seemed to be standing there and telling him that that was exactly what he needed to do. They remained silent until they could hear him speaking on the phone. "You find him, and then you call me. Don't worry. I know how to deal with Klaus."
His composure was fully intact as he asked, "Is that so? Please elaborate."
"Elijah Mikaelson." Marcel said as the two men stared one another down. He seemed to be on far less friendly terms with the older Mikaelson brother. His vampires immediately rose to their feet, clearly on edge after what Klaus had done. "No. I got it. It's all good."
Elijah sat down with a fake smile as he told Marcel, "It's time we had a little chat."
After a moment of awkward silence, Marcel insisted, "Well, if you're gonna talk, talk. I got things to do."
"Oh my, you have grown quite confident over the last century, haven't you?"
"Me? I'd say it's you and your brother who got cocky. Come to my town like you own the place."
"Well, we did own the place once. We were all quite happy here, as I recall, although we could never control those pesky witches at the French Quarter. How do you do it?" Elijah asked.
Marcel sighed heavily as he said, "Your brother asked me the same question. I gave him the same answer. It's my business. Everything in the Quarter is my business. Klaus comes into town all nice and friendly. Then he starts looking down his nose at what I've done like it's some cheap knockoff of one of his dumb paintings. Then he gets pissed off like a little bitch and bites one of my guys." Marcel seemed to be unaware of their presence during the whole event.
"Well, I do apologize for Klaus' poor behavior. I assume you know that that bite will kill your friend within a matter of days." Marcel looked guilty as he broke eye contact with Elijah. "Of course, Niklaus' blood would cure him."
"What?"
"Yes. Apparently, the blood of the hybrid will cure a werewolf bite." Marcel shifted in his seat as he tried to contain his hope at saving his friend. "Quite a handy, little thing when one needs leverage in a negotiation."
With a scoff, he asked, "What kind of negotiations we talking about?"
"Return the body of the witch Jane Anne, allow her people to put her to rest." Elijah said simply. It seemed that he was going to follow Katherine's plan after all.
But now, with the stress he was under with Ellie's life in the balance, he was making Marcel suspicious. "What do you care about the witches?" Marcel asked.
Elijah grinned in amusement. "Well, that's my business, now, isn't it?"
Ellie was eyeing the time on her watch anxiously. "Elijah is running out of time." Hayley told her nervously. "What happens if he's not back in time?"
"He'll be back in time." Ellie told her as she tried to soothe her own fears.
Hayley grabbed her arm, forcing the other girl to look at her. "What if he doesn't?" She asked seriously. "Because, I'm sorry but I'm not banking my life on your lover boy. We need a plan."
Ellie nodded. They couldn't risk it and it was always better to be over prepared than to have nothing. "I don't have any access to my magic, but they can't use theirs either. A lot of them have probably never thrown a punch in their lives, so we have a bit of a chance there. We can pick up these old flower vases if we need to and use them. Hit them over the head hard enough to knock them out, except for Sophie. If we knock her out, we knock ourselves out. We grab her, because the two of us together should be enough to overpower her on sheer strength, and we take her with us."
"Do you have any strength?" Hayley asked curiously.
It broke the tension and fear slightly as Ellie scoffed, bumping Hayley's shoulder with her own. "You'd be surprised, actually. Elijah took it upon himself to train me."
"Respectfully, that sounds like a good time for you."
She knew Hayley meant nothing by it and allowed herself to grin. "A very good time." She confirmed.
They'd only had a small time to laugh before they heard a voice from the other side of the crypt. "His time is up." They both looked down at Ellie's watch and, surely enough, it was a minute after midnight.
"Ellie!" Hayley whispered.
"Come on." Ellie replied as she passed one of the vases to Hayley. The duo crept toward the entrance with their weapons carefully concealed. If they were going to pull this off, they needed to get the drop on the other witches.
"What are you gonna do now, Sophie?" It was Agnes speaking.
Sophie's heavy sigh echoed slightly in the crypt. "I'm gonna do what I said I was gonna do."
"What? Kill the girls? Kill yourself? It's not going to solve anything and we'll be back to square one." Another unknown woman said.
"Klaus does not care about the child." Agnes told her. "It appears that even the noble Mikaelson does not care for his own."
Ellie refused to let her statement cut deep. They were almost to where the others were when Elijah's voice caught her attention. "You're wrong." He said simply. "I do care. For my child and for the child of my brother. And I bring proof of my intent to help you with the body of your fallen friend, which I procured from Marcel himself."
They put down their weapons before they entered the room. Several witches had followed in behind Elijah and Katherine as Elijah lowered a body to the ground. "Oh, Jane Anne." Sophie said softly.
"May she be granted peace." Elijah said gently. "Klaus will agree to your terms. I just need a little more time."
"You had your time. It's passed." Agnes told him.
"Shut up, Agnes!" The woman in a yellow top snapped.
"For now, accept the deal. The girls and their children remain unharmed, or Klaus will kill you all." He started to walk away as Hayley and Ellie watched from where they were hidden. He turned back to the witches with an intensity Ellie had rarely seen from him. "And I will help him."
After he walked out, and the witches preoccupied themselves with Jane Anne's body, a thing that Ellie didn't let herself think about, she snuck out from the crypt and met Katherine. "I'm not done with him and I haven't even talked to Klaus yet, because Klaus was too busy… acting like Klaus." Katherine explained quickly. "I need to follow Elijah to find Klaus."
"Be careful, Katherine."
"I will." She replied and she'd started to go after Elijah before she paused and looked at Ellie seriously. "He can handle this, Ellie. And we both know he loves you more than he's probably loved anyone else like he loves you. He just needs a little bit of time to let himself feel whatever it is he needs to feel first. You do too." She said gently. "You two are going to be fine, even if I have to kick his ass to make sure of it."
Ellie laughed gently, despite the fact that Katherine was a bit serious. "Thank you. I trust you." Ellie replied. "Now go help him find Klaus."
Katherine took off then, slightly more annoyed than she'd already been. Elijah hadn't even acknowledged Ellie when he'd brought Jane Anne. The absolute idiot. Speaking of idiots, she found Elijah approaching Klaus, who had clearly been drinking since they'd last seen him. "Have I not made clear my desire to be left alone?"
"Oh, you demand to be left alone at least once a decade. Your words have ceased to have an impact."
Klaus sling his bottle of alcohol toward a wall, shattering it violently. "Why must you keep harping on about the baby? That child will never be born. In fact, Hayley is probably dead already." Klaus said with a grin.
That seemed to be the straw that snapped the camel's back. Elijah slammed Klaus into the same wall he'd smashed the bottle on. "That is Eleanor's life you are also speaking of so carelessly." He hissed. "My child's life you dared to try and dismiss." Elijah was in Klaus' face as he said, "You will not walk away from this."
Klaus tried to push past Elijah, but Elijah forced him back, slamming his hand into Klaus' neck as the hybrid demanded, "Let. Me. Go."
"I will not!" Elijah lifted Klaus, slamming him into a wooden box and breaking it.
He forced Klaus to stand as Klaus growled, "Don't make me say it again."
"I will not let you go. I will never let go." Klaus managed to throw Elijah off of him as Elijah crashed into a metal gate. He ripped one of the metal rods off the gate as he said, "Even if I have to spend eternity saving you from your own stubborn, petulant, vile self." Katherine flinched as Elijah struck Klaus like he'd been playing baseball. "If I have to beat you as father used to beat you to remind you of your own humanity." Another strike. "To care about anything."
Klaus managed to snack the rod away, and struck Elijah like he had been struck. "You are beyond pathetic, Elijah." He huffed.
"Well, who's more pathetic? The one who sees hope to make his family whole… or the coward who can only see the world through his own fear?" Elijah asked.
Katherine didn't dare to speak, not yet. She could understand the fact that sometimes things just needed to be handled between siblings. "I haven't cared about anything for centuries. Why on earth do you?"
"Because I failed you." Elijah replied. "Because the first time our father laid a hand on you, I should've struck him dead. And I made a promise to you… always and forever, family above all."
Klaus' eyes were watering again, though he didn't acknowledge it as he laughed. He offered a hand to Elijah to help him stand before saying, "You are a sentimental fool."
"Perhaps." Elijah confessed shakily. "But I've lasted this long in spite of it, haven't I?" He paused for a long moment before he added, "You are not the only one faced with an unexpected push into fatherhood, brother. Eleanor is pregnant and her life, the life of my child and the life of yours… they are all in danger because of us. Because of Marcel and whatever it is that the witches want with him. She is my family, Niklaus. I will do what I must to protect her and our child."
He walked away without another word as Katherine walked closer. "I wondered when you would come out of the shadows, Katerina."
"Figured you two needed a bit of brotherly bonding." She sassed.
"What do you want?"
"For you to get your head out of your ass and stop lying to yourself. I have run from you for five hundred years Klaus, and I'm willing to stand here and call you out on your shit, Elijah too, because someone has to." She told him. "You lied to Elijah when you said you haven't cared about anything in centuries."
"Oh I have, have I?"
"You have." Katherine replied. "You love Ellie, not like Elijah does, but like I do." She told him. "So I don't understand why you would have risked her life like that."
"Elijah would have just killed them all, as would you." Klaus scoffed.
"They've linked her to Sophie. If Sophie gets hurt, Ellie gets hurt." Klaus looked up in surprise. "Listen, this is a lot, I know, and you might not be able to put yourself first but you'd do just about anything. Just like me, just like Elijah. For once, Klaus, let yourself put someone else first. Anyone that can really hurt you is dead, but there's a lot of people that can hurt her and her baby… and your baby." She watched his jaw tighten at the mention. "It's ok to want the baby. I wanted mine."
Logically, Klaus knew that she'd had a child, but no one had ever really talked about it. "You've grown too confident, Katerina."
"Because it's for Ellie, Klaus. You and I both know she's worth it. Treat her like it." She replied. "When you let yourself feel it, you'll be willing to die for that baby. You'll do anything to keep it safe. You just have to let it in."
"And what will that gain me?"
"The one thing you've always wanted." He looked over to her curiously. "That child will be the one person in this whole world that will always love you and you don't want to be alone."
After Jane Anne was put to rest, Elijah and Katherine had returned. Somehow, they'd gotten Klaus to agree to the deal. With Elijah's word, and his notoriety for never breaking his word, the witches agreed to release Ellie and Hayley to him with the warning that for their own safety, they could not leave New Orleans. It was morning as Elijah led them to a place that looked like it was probably once some kind of plantation. Ellie and Hayley had passed out on the first bed they found, and left the two Mikaelson brothers along with Katherine to find them curled up close to one another on top of the sheets.
No one said anything about the fact that Ellie and Elijah didn't share a bed that night.
Since it was too much of a risk to really have Ellie and Hayley going out, Katherine had taken it upon herself to go shopping for the two girls and had left earlier in the morning to get a head start on it. Neither Mikaelson brother had been around when the two pregnant girls woke, but without her magic, Ellie couldn't sense if they were nearby. So, they opted for getting the place cleaned up. "This place looks like it belongs in one of those old period movies." Hayley scoffed as they walked downstairs into a room with several items of furniture covered up. "What's that movie with Mel Gibson? You know where Heath Ledger is like his son or something?"
"The Patriot?"
"Yeah! This place looks like that." Hayley told her.
"Honestly, it probably was built during that time period. I wouldn't be surprised." Ellie agreed.
Hayley yanked off one of the white sheets covering a piece of furniture, sending both girls into a coughing fit. "Are you two all right?" Elijah asked as he walked into the room.
"Just dust." Hayley replied. "This place is ancient."
She'd said it with a bit of distaste, Elijah however, seemed to be rather fond of it. "Yes. It should serve our purposes. It's a… sanctuary from our business in the Quarter." He walked around the both of them, coming to stand just behind Ellie. "Right now, the two of you are the most important people in this family. You both need a good home." He did not miss the jump in Ellie's heart rate when he called her family.
"Good morning, gorgeous and friends!" Katherine said exuberantly as she walked into the room with several bags in hand.
Ellie looked at her in amusement. "Is it even ten in the morning?"
"Probably not, but I am a very experienced shopper. You, gorgeous, I know these will fit you, but you…" Katherine turned to Hayley with focus. "I was only guessing at your body size, so come along. There's things you need to try on." She said nothing about the fact that she was trying to force Ellie and Elijah to really talk about things. Ellie needed a strong support system right now, and her and Elijah being tense with each other would do no good.
Hayley, the smart little thing, shot a glance at the lovers that were standing oh so close to one another and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Wouldn't want to waste money and have the clothes not fit. We should go upstairs."
Katherine might end up liking her after all. "Perfect. We'll get you guys some clothes set up and then we can start house shopping. We have Mikaelson money to spend after all." Ellie grinned as Katherine all but pulled Hayley away, leaving her and Elijah alone. The tension returned suddenly when that fact settled in. Katherine's words replayed over in his mind.
Ellie is terrified and you know it.
She looked less pale now, though having a proper bed to rest in probably helped with that. But he could still the way her shoulders were tensed and the way she wouldn't really look him in the eye. "Eleanor?"
"Hmm?"
"I know that might reaction hasn't been the most… helpful in this situation, but has anyone asked how you're feeling in this situation?"
She scoffed slightly. "About what? Getting kidnapped, again, to be used by a group that wants to get something from you and Klaus, again, and my own life hanging in the balance with the whole mess, again? Or about the magical miracle baby that I somehow have inside of me despite the fact that you are very, very much a dead man?"
In that moment, she reminded him a bit of Klaus, deflecting aggressively in a situation when she didn't know how to react. "About being a mother." He corrected gently.
Mother.
Images of Miranda and Isobel and Sheriff Forbes all danced before her mind. Soft words and gentle kisses and hugs where she'd held on, so, so tight. They were happy memories, good memories. Even the few that she'd managed to steal with Isobel before she was taken away from her like Miranda had been. But then her mind ruined it with fire and floods. Choking and screaming and tears and terror. Gone too soon. Gone before her eyes. Nothing she could do but scream. Both times, her moms had been right there and she'd failed to save them. Would that be a fate she cursed her child with? Dying so close, traumatizing them in the way she was traumatized?
"Eleanor?" He could see her getting lost in her mind and he wanted to pull her out of it.
"Both of my moms died right in front of me, Elijah. My mom's was an accident, it wasn't anyone's fault that we lost control on the bridge. But Isobel was murdered in front of me. I tried to save her and I wasn't strong enough. I've never forgotten that feeling. My parents were good parents, but then it turns out that at the very least my dad was a very active vampire hunter. And John absolutely hated any and all vampires, except for maybe Isobel. What if I fail them, Elijah? What if I traumatize them just like that? What if I don't know how to be a good mother even though my mom was?"
It still felt surreal to think of herself as someone that was going to be a mother. For so, so long it had been her and Caroline's dream to raise their babies together, best friends for life. They would have both lived in Mystic Falls, never moving away, just so that they could be together. Now she couldn't go home. She'd wanted to be a mom, but when everything supernatural started, and then she'd fallen for Elijah, it seemed like she'd suppressed that urge.
Elijah walked over to her and cupped her face gently. "You will be a fantastic mother, Eleanor. There is not a single person that has ever graced the face of this earth that I would rather do this with. No one else could even compare. But did you even want to be a mother?"
Her eyes watered, but she forced herself to not cry. She pulled back slightly to look at him better. "I always wanted to be a mother. It was something that I'd always looked forward to. Me and Caroline used to get online and like plan out baby rooms and things." She chuckled slightly at the memory. "We were very into it. But I think I just buried that want because I want you." Her willingness to push past that desire for him. "But what about you?"
"What about me?" Elijah asked.
"Have you even thought about how you feel?" Elijah had always done so much to ease her fears, but she'd seen his reaction when he heard the baby's heartbeat. There was a lot going on in his mind too. "You're going to be a father."
He inhaled sharply at the word. She had a feeling that his mind was swimming with memories of Mikael, and that was enough to scare the hell out of anyone. "I am." He confirmed softly. After a long moment he confessed, "It was something I'd wanted to be above anything else when I was human. It would have been an honor to carry on my family name. It took me a long time after my death to come to terms with the fact that I would never have it. But here you are, standing before me with the one thing I thought I could never have. I suppose I don't know how I feel."
"Elijah…" She said gently and he could see the poorly concealed worry on her face.
"What I do know, however, is that whatever happens, I will be here, and I will love you and our child until the day that I die." He told her. His intensity surprised her, but she could feel part of that anxiety in her chest release. "I love you, Eleanor. You are my family. Just like our child is my family. I will always protect you. You have my word on that." He stepped closer, closing the distance between them as he cupped her face once more. "You are my family." He repeated. "And I will never leave you or our child. I'm yours, Eleanor, surely you know that by now. And you are mine. The only person that I want. You and our child, you are everything to me."
Our child.
It made her chest flood with warmth every time he said it, even though she was still trying to adjust to the thought. "I love you, Elijah." She spoke softly, almost trembling in his touch from the amount of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.
"I love you, too. I love you both." He said as he glanced down to her stomach. "And I will love and protect you both, always and forever." They stood there for a long moment, barely a breath away from one another before he finally dipped down to kiss her. She immediately melted into the kiss, craving his touch and his hold after having been away from him for so long.
She could have cried in relief. Even without her powers, she knew that he meant it. It was going to be hard for them both to adjust, but they weren't alone. Hell, Hayley and Klaus were going through the exact same thing. They would figure it out together, no matter what it took. "Always and forever." She said gently as she pulled away from him.
"Always and forever." He repeated.
"Always and forever, you really are a part of the family now, love." Klaus sassed as he leaned against the doorway. "And noble Elijah always keeps his word."
"Is it done?" Elijah asked, though he did not step away from Ellie.
Katherine and Hayley returned as Klaus replied, "As a matter of fact, yes. Your underhanded deal worked quite well."
"Thank you." Katherine replied. "It was my plan after all."
"Marcel was only too happy to accept my blood, even as he accepted my heartfelt apologies. His man Thierry yet lives, and I remain a welcome guest in the french quarter. My only concern now is this coven of impudent witches."
"I believe them to be honorable." Elijah replied as his hand came to rest on Ellie's back. She wasn't quite sure why she was so surprised by his touch, but she moved back slightly to step into it. "They did release Eleanor and Hayley to me, although they haven't been entirely forthcoming. Marcel obviously has something that they need. They don't want him dead. There must be a reason why."
He'd stepped away slightly from Ellie and toward Klaus. "And that will be something that we uncover brother, in due time. Come, let's leave the girls to their… chitter chatter while we plan our next move."
"That sounds stupid." Ellie huffed.
"There's a lot that needs to be done around the house to make it suitable for you lot and the babies, I would assume that you would want to be in charge." Klaus told her. At their unimpressed expressions he said, "Oh bloody hell I didn't mean it like you were domesticated, fragile things. Quite frankly I was trying to give you a modicum of control over your situation when so much of it is currently out of your hands."
It was actually kind of sweet when he phrased it like that. Luckily for him, Katherine had always enjoyed decorating things, even when she was human, and thrived in it. "Go away before you dig yourself a deeper hole, Klaus." She shooed him away with a grin. With everything as complicated as it was, he wouldn't dare hurt her when she was so adamant about keeping Ellie safe, which left her free to be a bit more herself. Klaus rolled his eyes at her, but he and Elijah made their exit as Katherine excitedly said, "We need to pick rooms! Let's go!"
Author's Note:
Sorry for being a bit late you guys, we had family over. Now Klaus and Katherine know about the babies! And Katherine is getting sassy looking out for Ellie! As always, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this chapter!
To Anonymous book person: That is an interesting thought, but that's probably a bit too much in the family lol.
To Careena1: More than likely, but not before Ellie and Hayley are no longer linked.
To Ashies: Lol yes, there's definitely hints sprinkled throughout my notes and replies to people. Klaus is still going to lash out a bit because he's scared, but I agree, I think it'll help him in the long run.
To IrisTurner: Well, you've got to remember that Ellie is one of the more rational ones. If they come after her baby, however, then I do think she might kill them for it. I don't think they realize how dangerous she can be.
To madiygeek: We got to see a bit of Kat's reaction this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it! I can't wait for Rebekah to come home too.
To Aryabloodlust: Hayley stringing people along is valid, I'll give them that. Hopefully, by giving her stronger family connections, she won't feel that urge. I had someone else bring up the Celeste bones things, but to Hayley's credit, she was just trying to find her family and I mean, how is that really any different that Stefan and Elena betraying Damon with those journals in season one? She was wrong for it, but she wasn't trying to be malicious, she just wanted her family. I'd love to hear your theories on how Ellie got pregnant tho!
To Kalynnblack: I think the only way for the baby to be a heratic would be for it to be born a siphoner and then become a vampire. But I can't say too much in case of spoilers.
To Guest: I do already know the gender, but I won't spoil it! Agreed, I know Hayley best from the first couple of seasons, but I hope to flesh her out more anyways like I did Katherine.
To Jehovelb: If you've gotten to this point, then you'll know lol.
To kash509: I'm so glad you enjoyed!
To Blu3b3rryT3a: I won't spoil how it happened just yet. And yes, Kat was very brave.
To Charlie0925: Everyone's response to the pregnancy is so much better than I expected honestly. Jenna and Jeremy will get there eventually, I just haven't worked out the when.
To NaRuKo-InuTaiSHo: Thank you so much!
To BecomingFearless1F: Valid for not liking her because she slept with Klaus, but honestly, everyone slept with everyone on that show. Why did she seem skanky to you? A little bitchy I'd get but not sure what made her seem skanky to you. Her and Care are definitely gonna end up friends because of Ellie though. I don't think Hayley's gonna get MCS like Elena. I think she seemed a bit more selfish originally (Hayley I mean) because they never really had her fully bond with other characters. I'm glad I can give you motivation though!
To Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker: Yes, we love the Petrova sisters lol. I too am a sucker for Elijah with babies, obviously lol. Oh they definitely want to know how it happened, but I can't give that bit away just yet.
To FreakingLEM: Elijah definitely deserves a chance. I'm so glad you like that Ellie was pregnant. I was so nervous.
To UnknownReaderHasJoined: A coven would definitely be fascinating. I feel like it would be interesting to really get into coven dynamics and why they're important, since that's never really explained. It would definitely include Davina and Freya.
To Guest(2): I'm glad you liked it! Jenna's gonna be so excited, after she gets past the shock.
To schafferer: Thank you so much! I do kind of hate Elena, mainly after rewatching and seeing the stuff I missed before. But I adore Kat. I hope Hayley not getting feelings for Elijah will help some people's opinions of her. Ellie does need to learn to put herself first for sure. Bro I didn't even imagine a Silas/Ellie baby, though it's an interesting suggestion lol. If it was Silas at the bar and not Stefan, I assure you he didn't hurt her.
-Madame Magic
Posted: 4/30/22
